


in which there is actual plot and character development

by siwona, tokidokes



Series: he got friends for all of my friends [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, but it's soccer it's not that uncommon, self-indulgence at its finest, slight angst lol, there's a fight also jsyk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-05
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-07 17:49:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4272444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siwona/pseuds/siwona, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokidokes/pseuds/tokidokes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The backstory to our self-indulgent soccer au. We're assholes, but, like. Yay, character development.</p>
            </blockquote>





	in which there is actual plot and character development

“It’s the eighty-fifth minute of play here in Osaka, and the Seidou team is up one-nothing! It’s a goal kick for Tia, who will— _oh_!—who will play it short to Bri. Bri passes to Miranda… who returns the ball to keep clear of the Minami forwards. Bri backs up before clearing the ball to the other half of the field. Jesse heads the ball then sprints to control it… and she will win the challenge!

“Splitting two midfielders, she races down the left flank of the field! Inoue runs over to challenge Jesse who looks to Jae, but she’s blocked! Inoue chases the ball, Jesse chases the ball and will get there just before Inoue, but they’re neck and neck! Jesse will stretch for it… and she goes down, tripping up Inoue in the process! The ref blows the whistle and this will be a foul on Jesse!”

There is a slightly disbelieving pause in the announcer’s coverage as the ref pulls a yellow out of her pocket and walks over to Jesse, who is still on the ground, along with Inoue.

“Wait…the referee is showing Jesse a yellow! A bad call, from my standpoint, really, but… wait, _oh no_.”

It seemed to happen in slow motion.

As Jesse began to yell at the ref about the call, still on the ground, Inoue sneered and kicked the back of their cleats, probably muttering something snide.

Then everything was moving fast, happening all at once. At the provocation, Jesse saw red and scrambled to their feet. About half of the Minami team were nearby and began to converge on the scene. As Jesse grit their teeth and began to spew profanities, the referee couldn’t get to the scene in time.

Everyone in the stands could only watch as shit hit the fan, fast.

Jesse reeled back and absolutely slugged Inoue in her nose, and the player went down just as easily as she had dived in the game.

The Seidou soccer team—players on the field and the bench alike—stood gaping.

All six of the players around Jesse immediately jumped into action, running forward and pushing and yelling at the player, who did their best to keep them at bay.

No one was paying attention to the other end of the field to hear a furious yell of “Oh hell _fucking_ no!” as the goalie left her box for the twentieth time that game.

It was just a little different.

Tia ran at full speed to the other half of the field, yanking and tugging furiously at her keeper’s gloves until the left one came flying off. She didn’t wait—didn’t stare like everyone else—but instead ran and jumped up to kick one of the other soccer players in the back of the knee, making her double over. With one down, five still on Jesse, she slung her left arm back before clocking another upside of her jaw.

The two of them managed to hold their own—not necessarily winning, but not losing either—until their captain and the referee pulled them and the other players apart.

Two reds were shown immediately, the referee positively screaming. She showed a yellow to Inoue after, and then the captain was dragging the goalie and the midfielder off of the pitch.

Their coach wouldn’t let them sit on the bench, but instead had an assistant coach escort them out of the stadium entirely.

The game went on, with Seidou down by two players. Though there were only five minutes left, originally, the drama on the field amounted to six minutes of added time.

“Yamada has broken through the wall of defenders! She will take a shot, one-v-one with the Seidou’s reserve goalie! One touch, and… Yamada scores! Minami find their equalizer in the last minute of injury time!”

The stadium roared as the game went into extra time.

Minami won, three goals to one, against the nine-person Seidou team.

Jesse and Tia were sobbing whenever their teammates trudged out of the stadium. Almost every single one of them was crying; most of them completely ignored the goalie and midfielder that had cost them the game—the _final_ , the _championship game_.

Their fellow second years—three of them, at least—patted them on the back as they walked by. They were upset; they were pissed and disappointed, but they offered what sympathy they could.

Then the third years came out.

Both Jesse and Tia averted their gazes. Jesse hiccupped.

Their captain held onto their vice-captain. The captain was crying; the vice-captain was sobbing so hard that she seemed to be shaking to pieces. Captain Matsumoto looked in their direction before she helped the other girl over to another player. Once her best friend was taken care of, Matsumoto marched over to her younger teammates.

Jesse was beside themself, Tia was not too far behind them. They bowed deeply to their captain, choking out apology after apology, but she was having absolutely none of it. Matsumoto regarded them coolly, clinically for someone who had tears steadily streaming down her face.

“No.” She glared, her words biting. She punched both of them in the shoulder. “ _Look at me_.”

When they did, she seethed and glared all the more venomously.

“Both of you stop crying. _Now_. Wipe your tears and suck it up. Both of you _stop fucking crying_ , neither of you get to grieve over this!” She raised her voice, now almost yelling, “This is your fault, both of you. Twelve of your seniors walk away without the championship that they earned because of you two. They leave high school _losers_ because neither of you have any self-control.

“Hold yourselves accountable! Your lack of self-control is our lack of a championship!” Her livid words were biting and heavy, “Own up to your faults. Don’t whimper apologies. Your words mean _nothing_ to me or to the rest of the team. Learn to control your tempers! Learn when enough is enough! _Grow up_! Both of you, grow up and figure out how deeply your actions affect the others around you!”

With that, she turned on her heel, then froze.

“Make this up to us by learning how to be team players. Make this up to us by giving Seidou next year what you _stole_ from us this year.”

Matsumoto paced back over to her vice-captain, pulling her girlfriend into a gentle hug.

Tia clenched her fists. Her tears were angry and ugly and she was so pissed—at Inoue for the dive and the kick and starting this mess, at Jess for punching the other player, at herself for fighting without a second thought.

Jesse steeled themselves, still sobbing but no longer swaying weakly from side to side.

They reached out for Tia’s one ungloved hand, grabbing on tightly.

“We’re going to make this better,” they growled, eyes watery but aflame.

Tia squeezed their hand back just as firmly, “We fucking better.”

\---

_“Wait…the referee is showing Jesse a yellow! A bad call, from my standpoint, really, but… wait, oh no.”_

They had to watch it all over on the stadium’s large overhead screen. The shame lapped at their heels, at the back of their minds.

Jesse nearly startled as a hand clasped onto their shoulder.

“Not this year,” Tia reminded them. “Not this fucking year.”

They swallowed hard, before laying their hand over Tia’s and nodding. “We’re gonna kick ass! Hell yeah!” She turned back to the rest of their team, “What did we come here to do?!”

“Kick ass!” came the resounding answer.

“What _the fuck_ did we come here to do?!” Tia joined in this time, ignoring the look her coach gave her for the profanity.

“ _Kick ass_!” once again.

“Let’s go, Seidou!” Jesse finished, all but roaring as they and the rest of the starters walked out onto the field to begin their championship game.

Fans from both schools were piled into the stadium. Matsumoto sat only a few rows up, her eyes glued to Seidou’s players. A little further up, a section of rowdy supporters were all painted up. Two of the loudest yelled and cheered whenever a particular goalie and a specific midfielder waved in their direction.

The atmosphere was incredible.

Once everyone was lined up, Jesse fidgeted with the band on their sleeve.

Tia smirked a bit.

“Nervous, _captain_?”

Jesse offered her a grin in return.

“Not the slightest! What about you, _vice-captain_?”

They weren’t going to lose. _Not this year_.

**Author's Note:**

> seidoimagines.tumblr.com  
> dicksama.tumblr.com  
> arotone.tumblr.com


End file.
